Stillness and Silence
by fatalis-stille
Summary: Akabane x Ban. One evening of contemplation on the desires of two men and the inevitable days that follow.
1. ein

Disclaimer : I don't own the Get Backers. I only own the plot.

Warning : This is a slash story, mostly centered around the odd pairing of Akabane and Ban. If you don't like, then don't read.

Author's Note : Review! I want to know what you think. Are they OOC? Does the plot suck? Any loopholes I left out? Hehehe…. I am an annoying bitch ain't I?

****~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~****

If you could only see

The way she loves me

Then maybe you would understand

Why I feel this way about our love

And what I must do

If you could only see how blue her eyes can be when she says

When she says she loves me

-If You Could Only See by Tonic

****~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~****

** Part One**

"What are you looking for, Mido…Ban?"

Again, he sees through the illusion I have wrapped around myself. With him, there is no escape, and by now I should know that there is no truth I can hide from his silken and piercing voice.

It's like trying to hide a shadow from blinding light. Or with him, trying to hide a flickering flame from an all encompassing darkness.

I smirk to myself. Whatever.

But I pretend I don't hear him, and continue gazing out the window and exhaling artless white clouds of smoke from my barely open mouth. To respond to him would mean acknowledging that he is right, and to recognize that he is right would mean I have admitted to the fact that he knows at least some part of me. 

I would rather bite my hand off than give him that satisfaction, not because of the current situation I have dug myself in to, but because I am myself and he is who he is.

So simple and complicated, our personal identities. Mine was buried somewhere I didn't want to extricate, and his was lost either by his own doing or by forces even he could not control.

The sheets don't rustle as he gets up from the bed, his smooth limbs sliding across the blankets with the controlled grace of a panther on the hunt. I watch him from the corner of my eye, watch him watch me as he moves like silent death across the room and comes to my side in a flash of glittering darkness.

Glittering darkness. Those two words fit him exactly, didn't they? A paradox that refused to be explained, that could not be explained, by any language known to man. I hated and abhorred him to the depths of my damned soul, and yet there was something about him that drew me, like a reaction that couldn't be ignored.

He confuses me to hell and back, and I detest him for it.

Gloved hands splay themselves delicately on my jaw and force me to look up into eyes so very much like my own, glazed and striking in their hollow emptiness. Himiko once told me that his expression unnerved her, reminded her of a mask that would just not fall off. In the beginning I thought so too, but as events progressed, I started to doubt my own assumptions. 

His smile, no matter how empty, is more real than most things.

"I never thought you'd be the sentimental type."

I growl out my response.

"I am not being sentimental, you asshole."

Whether because he chooses not to anger me at the moment or because he is thinks himself above such petty conversation is beyond my understanding, but he doesn't reply to the insult I throw his way. Instead, he just cocks his head to the side and laughs good naturedly, brushing off my anger as if it were a speck of dust on his coat.

He doesn't treat me like the bringer of death I view myself to be.

"Your defensiveness amuses me, Mido-kun. It's as if you're guilty of something and trying to hide it."

I snort in response. I am guilty of a lot of things and so is he. He has no right to ask me these questions when I don't interrogate him about his past and all his little psychopathic pleasures.

Stupid git.

His face is so close I can smell the mint on his breath, can see the blue swirls of gray in his irises. His proximity overpowers me for a moment, startles me to paralysis and I forget to breathe in. I glare angrily at him when I recover and bat his hand away from my chin.

"It's none of your business."

His hands don't give up though, and once more I feel his fingers ghosting over my skin and tracing patterns onto my forearm. I shiver at the thought that he's got blades under his skin and could cut me up any time he wished.

The masochist in me is enjoying everything very much.

"Well then I'm making it my business." Lips descend to a spot over my main artery, sucking intensely on the pulse, insistent on leaving some sort of mark. Bastard knows how much I hate those things. I snarl deep in my throat and turn to face him, fangs slightly barred and eyes flashing in lust and want. I don't know how he does it, how he makes me cringe and tingle at the same time. He answers by covering my mouth with his and pulling me deftly back to the bed we slept in. There is a mild taste of coldness in his mouth, as if he's been breathing in ice and the coolness never really left him. I find it a little addicting, so different from the sweet and flowery taste of the many women I've had that it was refreshing.

The measly amount of clothes I've managed to put on is once more discarded and thrown haphazardly across the room, torn in a few places where Akabane's impatience had gotten the better of him and he just sliced at whatever was blocking his path.

He's not as calm as most people think he is. In fact sometimes, he's not calm at all.

I hear his breath hitch as my fingernails rake across his alabaster back, leaving angry red marks in their wake. He regards me with his eyes narrowed into slits, and his mouth in a slight frown. 

"That was uncalled for, Mido-kun."

"So is the purple mark on my neck. I'd say we're even."

The frown disappears, and in its place a small smile stretches on his face.

"Ahh…"

And I see the loophole he immediately creates; understand instantly that he never really admitted that we were even. Cunning bastard just made a meaningless noise that sounded like an affirmative.

But who cares? Surely not me. Surely not Mido Ban. Just as long as he gives me what I want.

But that's the hitch isn't it?

A muted gasp escapes from my lips as he bites my shoulder, telling me in no certain words to get with the program and start paying attention to what I was doing.

What do I want? 

****~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~****

Hours later….

The flicker of my lighter announces to my bedmate that I am about to pollute the air he is going to breathe, causing him to turn and take the thing from my hand before it has the chance to light my cigarette.

I feel my fingers twitching with the urge to strangle him to death, but the contented feeling in the pit of my stomach and the tired exhaustion of my body prevents me from being a real threat to him.

I can only create a muffled grunt of annoyance to tell him that I am pissed.

"Don't even think about it. I want you alive for a lot longer than that things going to allow."

"And why's that?" I can't help but lift an eyebrow in question.

"Because you're interesting. And because I have great sex with you."

This time, my hand restrains the urge to slap my forehead. 

"Tch. Selfish asshole."

"Watch your mouth Mido-kun. It's not nice to say bad things about other people."

To hell with you. I'm getting my lighter back the moment you fall asleep.

And as if he hears what I am thinking, the sound of breaking glass and the steady drip of lighter fluid reaches my ears.

"Good night Mido-kun." In the inky darkness, I think I can actually hear him smile.

Grrr….I am definitely killing him in the morning.

****~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~****

Again…review, review, review! J Should I continue?


	2. zwei

Disclaimer : Still don't own the Get Backers. Only own the plot.

Author's Note : All the reviewers are beautiful people to me.

**Dream-eater-is-hungry** : I know it's rare. Actually, this is the first fic that I've ever seen with this particular pairing.

**Kyaru-chan** : I'm glad I converted you and made you see the light! J

**Muraki Slavegirl** : Thank you! You make me wanna jump up and down with joy!

**ManicReversed** : I know the feeling. He makes my skin crawl too. Hahaha!

**Tala1** : I am sooo flattered. I love you so much!

**obssdGB **: Really? *hugs obssdGB*

**laguna_moomba** : I'm very glad to hear that you like it. Makes me feel euphoric.

**haru** : thankees! 

_~*// blahblah //*~ _-- means flashbacks

_blahblahblahblah_ – thoughts between Ban and Akabane

Part 2

Stupid back alley murderer.

I sigh in annoyance as I side step his clumsy attack, carving my initials into the nape of his neck while he stumbles on his own two feet. 

There was no grace in his lunge, no hidden meaning that I could not decipher, no thought that surprised me at all. It almost makes me want to go back to Infinity City and look for Kagami so that I could have some fun cutting up that body of his.

But only almost. I still have important things that keep me from going back. 

The body of my attacker falls dully to the ground, his shaved head hitting the sharp edge of a wooden crate in its descent. That's going to be messy, I think as I slip past, but I continue walking down the alley as if nothing important had happened.

Erase that last thought. Nothing important had happened. I just did the world a favor by disposing of a fool who was absolutely useless to today's current society.

All part of my job, if you ask me.

But speaking of fools…

I turn left as I step out of the alleyway and find myself standing at the sidewalk opposite a very familiar establishment. The clang of falling silverware and the cacophony of undistinguishable shouting erupts from the door of the restaurant known as the "Honky Tonk", earning it a lot of surprised stares and whispered comments. I smile in amusement as I make my way towards the said building, thinking to myself that he and his friend Ginji were the ones most surely causing all the trouble.

Who else would have the nerve to make so much noise at 10:54 in the morning?

My assumptions are proven correct when sparks of electric currents flare from the inside of the shop and when moments later, every electric light on the street starts to flicker sporadically.

Yes. It is definitely those two.

I rest the base of my palm on the polished surface of the wooden door and push lightly, vainly trying to shorten the smirk that creeps into my face every time I know I am about to do something that is going to make Mido Ban bristle with annoyance.

You can't blame me really, he's just too amusing for words, especially when he's trying to make me abide by certain rules which from the beginning I have no intention of following. He should know by now that I get a perverted sort of pleasure just by watching him get aggravated over the things I naturally do. Whether because this frustration stems from me being the "arrogant sonofabitch" that he likes to call me or whether because I tend to tease him a lot during sex is beside the point. 

The point is that I like seeing him exasperated and I think subconsciously, he knows that I will never obey to whatever inane set of laws he tries to enforce upon me. He is just clinging to the vain hope that I might actually listen to him someday.

Let him. He'll soon realize how utterly useless it is anyway.

The bell on top rings a tad too merrily for my taste as I enter, but I don't let this slight annoyance get to me. I was in too much of a good mood to care.

"Go get the door, you idiot!"

"But Ban-chan! I got it the last time! It's your turn!"

"Shut up you electric eel and serve the custo—"The sentence dies out the moment he realizes just who it was that came through the door. Seven pairs of eyes regard me with either surprise, apprehension, baffled confusion, or in Mido's case, downright irritation as I make my way to one of the plush red booths and look at them with feigned indifference.

I do have that flare for magnetic entrances, don't I?

"A-a-akabane-san!" Ginji-kun is the first one to shake himself out of the stupor he is in, his voice unnaturally loud in the stunned silence of the room. I tilt my head in his direction and regard him with the mild fascination I have always associated with Infinity City's Thunder Emperor.

"Hello, Ginji-kun. I am glad to see that you're doing well." The words come out with the usual smoothness and politeness, and I lace only the softest signs of malice in my words. Slight enough so that the teenage girl beside the redhead doesn't suspect anything out of the ordinary, but enough to make the Raitei cower behind the glowering killer stare of his partner and whimper almost… pathetically.

"Ban-chan~!!"

Amethyst lasers nearly identical to mine stare heatedly at me from behind purple glasses, and I know for a fact that if I provoke him just a little bit more, he's going to punch me full in the face. I grin to myself secretly and reign in anymore remarks; I could do that some other time. For now, I just raise my hands in an attempt to look innocent of any wrong doing.

He still continues to glare death at me from where he is standing.

"So what are you doing here?"

From the slit in my hat, I look at him fully in the face. I cannot deny that I love being noticed by him, and that I revel in the fact that I am someone he cannot simply ignore and brush aside like he has done with so many of late, even though I do nothing but get on his nerves.

Rack it up as another one of my outlandish eccentricities, for all I care.

"I'm here to pass the time."

_ I'm here to look at you._

He catches the veiled thoughts in my sentence, and the frown marring his smooth face deepens even more.

"Why don't you go "pass the time" somewhere else?"

_ I don't want you "looking" at me._

"Mido-san, don't be rude!" The black haired teenager says to him with a small scowl gracing her face, looking scandalized by Ban's behaviour. She then proceeds to focus all her attention on me and smiles brightly, ignoring the protests tumbling out of the affronted brunette's mouth.

Wonder of wonders. Who'd have ever imagined Mido Ban to be whipped by this frail looking pre-pubescent girl?

"What will you be having, mister?"

"Coffee, please. No cream, no sugar. Plain black. And maybe a croissant." I give her one of my most endearing smiles, and she nods her head and skips back to where the man she calls Paul is cooking some bacon and eggs.

"Hn."

_ You're lucky the girl doesn't know you're a psychotic asshole._

A smirk tugs at the corners of my lips.

_ Just my luck, isn't it, Mido-kun?_

He snorts in annoyance and turns away, stomping towards the kitchen and nearly bulldozing Ginji as he makes his exit. Poor blonde nearly gets trampled by his sudden action and only escapes being stepped upon by jerking away and falling rear first onto the floor.

I could already imagine Ban-kun cursing me to the deepest reaches of hell and telling everybody with body language to get the hell out of his way.

Body language. Does Mido-kun know that he has the most expressive body I have ever encountered in a person? The award for most expressive face definitely goes to Ginji-kun, that is unchallengeable, but Mido-kun unquestionably has the most animated body on the face of this earth. You could read him based on how he moves alone, the twitching of the corners of his lips, the speed of his gait or the angle he cocks his head towards somebody. And even though he tries to cover up whatever his body is saying by spitting insults at anybody within a range of 2 miles, you could still see it there, a message just waiting to be read.

Or in my case, a figure waiting to be touched.

That is why I am drawn to him. And the fact that he doesn't seem to understand that he is alluring to death.

I don't think he is aware of this slight detail. He doesn't seem to notice that he radiates something magnetically attractive and lethal at the same time. But everyone does, including me. I feel it every time I touch him, coursing beneath his skin like white hot steel, consuming me with the same intensity of a newly born star and coursing through his veins like mercuric wildfire. He burns me, and burns himself at the same time. 

That is the oxymoron of his whole situation, and I can't ignore it even if my life depended on it.

It is just too remarkable to overlook.

My order suddenly arrives violently in front of me, the coffee nearly spilling and the plate holding the croissant jangling noisily onto the wooden table, jolting me out of my thoughts. It is Mido-kun whose brought me my food, pointedly refusing to let up with the glare that he's been wearing since I entered the shop.

Of course he's the one who's serving me. Ginji must be somewhere hiding and I can hear Paul trying to tell the teenage girl that her life would have been better if she had never seen me at all in her entire life. The redhead does exaggerate a lot, doesn't he?

"There." Immovable, unyielding and completely fuckable, he stands there with a cigarette hanging from his lips and a hand in his pocket. Looking so untouchable, like the forbidden fruit on top of the tree in the Garden of Eden. It makes me want to lunge right now and start stripping him in front of everyone, just so that I can show all of them that he is not as cold as he would have them believe, that he is not as in control as they think he always is. 

Just so that I can take a bite out of that forbidden fruit and hear him gasping my name beneath me.

But for the nth time this afternoon, I control myself and let him pass by unharmed, contenting myself with thinking of ways to make you pay later.

Patience. Patience.

I take a sip from the cup and relish the bitter taste as I watch his retreating back. You make me think Mido Ban, of things that I never would have thought possible for me. Later, I promise, when we are alone once more and you are laid bare before me, I will reveal every secret you have ever had in your life, unearth everything that makes you who you are, and mark you as mine and only mine. You'll fight it, I know you most definitely will, and maybe you'll even try to run, but I'll tangle you again in my arms and you will never be able to escape.

It is now, most surely, only a matter of time.

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Review again? Hehehe! I adore everybody who does! I was actually feeling depressed a little while ago, but because of the reviews, I actually managed to finish this. Hope it meets all your expectations!

-fatalis


	3. drei

Author's Note :  
  
The reviews for the last chapter were simply....oh god, I have absolutely no words. I can't comment on all of them because it would waste so much space and I don't want to bore you all with my worthless sentences of thanks. I just want to tell everybody who reviewed that YOU GUYS ARE THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE and that I love you all to pieces.  
  
Part 3  
  
A firecracker burst into a million little lights in the midnight sky.  
  
It seemed that Ginji and Natsumi thought that New Year would never be complete without at least a few of those things, and dragged every last one of us to the beach to celebrate. Currently both of them were jumping up and down and clapping incessantly every time Paul bent over to light one, and at the rate they were going, it seemed as if they would never stop.  
  
I let a tiny grin appear on my face. Childish, both of them, but it was good to know that not all of us were completely jaded.  
  
On the farther side of the beach, Madoka and Shido were sitting in front of the fireplace, not quite touching each other because etiquette and propriety got in the way, but close enough that most people can feel that they were "involved" with each other.  
  
I rolled my eyes and "tsked" at the thought. If I could have my way, I'd inject the monkey tamer with some sort of aphrodisiac just so I can save Madoka all the agony of having to wait for him to make the first move. Stupid monkey would take forever to propose to the damn girl.  
  
And speaking of propriety, a little farther away from that couple were Kadsuki and Jubei, walking slowly along the shoreline and observing the antics of everyone else around them. I had to suppress a cackle of sheer amusement when I saw needle-boy turn stiff as a rod the moment Kadsuki tugged at his hand to get him to hurry up. If Shido was proper and shit, then hell, needle-boy was the veritable Lord of the Stick-Shoved-So- High-Up-The-Ass. He was so uptight that in my opinion, he needed to be anally raped. Twice.  
  
He shook his head and combed back unruly bangs. Kadsuki was going to have a hard time with that one, but if the covert looks that Kadsuki kept shooting and Jubei kept ignoring were anything to go by, then Jubei better ready his virginal ass.  
  
A scream of pure pain suddenly shattered my thoughts this quiet night, and I turned to see Paul hopping on one foot and cradling the other, which Hevn had apparently kicked in frustration. Himiko was having a hard time controlling her laughter, clutching her stomach in a desperate attempt to contain her mirth.  
  
"I told you THRICE to pack those things in the car first and now you're telling me you LEFT THEM?!?!" Another dull thud as a steel high heeled boot made contact with a bare ankle, and another muffled cry of pure agony from the poor redhead echoed through the empty beach.  
  
Sweet. A little violent, but sweet nevertheless. Like the firecrackers that burst overhead, I knew beauty when I saw it, and if the contentment and warmth that was permeating in the air wasn't beauty, then I did not know what was.  
  
Another rocket shot to the sky, and for a moment the whole are was bathed in green and yellow. For no apparent reason, the hair on the back of my forearms began to rise even though I could find no particular explanation for it to do so. It only did that when...  
  
Well, so maybe there was a reason.  
  
My heels dug into the shifting white sands as I turned and headed back for the lodges Madoka had rented for our own personal use. I could feel it humming throughout my body, vibrating with barely suppressed excitement . He was here. How in the hell he had managed to follow all of us halfway across Japan was a mystery I would have to ask him later, but right now, all I could focus on was the delicious thrill that shot up and down my spine at the very thought of having him near once more for almost a week of separation.  
  
Chastity was clearly not my thing.  
  
Sand slowly turned into jutting planks of polished wood as I made my way up the cabin, my mind distantly counting the number of steps I was taking towards my room. The feeling had become undeniable now, turning into a jumpiness in my gut that could not be ignored.  
  
I was heading for danger, wasn't I? Heading for a situation that was dodgy at best and precarious at worst. But my feet didn't seem to want to listen to the logic of my brain, treading inexorably towards him as if they were magnetized and under some sort of spell.  
  
I would know. I am the wielder of the almighty Jaggan, aren't I?  
  
The golden knob of my room was in front of me before I knew it, staring up at me and reflecting my distorted face on its circular surface. My fingers hesitated for a moment at my side, pausing in mid air.  
  
What if he wasn't here? What if I was just hallucinating? What if all I felt was just a rush of cool air? Maybe I'm insane for being here.  
  
The thud of approaching footsteps prompted me to finally place my palm on the cold metal handle, and with a sudden intake of breath, I pushed open the door.  
  
Nothing out of the ordinary greeted my searching gaze, and I felt the tide of disappointment threaten to come crashing over me. I didn't really know why I felt let down. I just did.  
  
So I am some crazy piece of shit with an over-active libido.  
  
"Took you long enough to come here."  
  
The door to the bathroom opened with a slight creak, and with the fog of steam emerged none other than Akabane, clad only in a white terry towel at his waist and the usual air of indifference that hung off of him like perfume.  
  
The wave of disappointment mentioned earlier evaporated miraculously within the blink of an eye, like a puddle in the middle of June. Was this a good thing? Was this a bad thing? I think I'll think about that later, after the sex.  
  
"So you came to crash the party, huh?" The biting reply was at my lips in a second, a reflex that I had developed because of the relationship I kept with him. It was... a defense of sorts. And it was fun, taunting him with words.  
  
"It doesn't look as if I'm unwanted though, and it even seems as if I've been expected." Long fingers rake back strands of raven black hair away from his face, and amethyst eyes regarded me from beneath half-closed eyelids.  
  
"So you came here for the fireworks I presume?" The sarcasm dripped like rain from my voice, and I leaned back on the door frame to watch him move about. I wasn't going to prostate myself on the floor just for sex, no matter how much I wanted to. I had more pride than that.  
  
I think.  
  
The soles of his feet barely made any noise on the polished wooden floor as he walked towards me with a Cheshire cat grin on his face, hips swaying slightly to some distant tune only he could hear.  
  
"You could probably say that." The sexual undertone informed me that "fireworks" had just taken a completely new meaning, one that I approved of completely. Agile fingers began undoing the buttons of my white polo shirt with the expertise of a long time lover, the tips teasingly light over my skin. I replied by biting his lower lip, sucking at the tender piece of flesh as if it were some sort of lifeline.  
  
He drew back with that shit-eating grin still in place.  
  
"You missed me." Not a question, but a statement of a fact that I couldn't deny. So I didn't.  
  
"Cut the crap and the foreplay. I'm top tonight." Was my deadpan reply, as I nipped impatiently at his earlobe. A breathless chuckle brushed past my ear as he complied with my order and cut my jeans to tatters with a flick of his wrist.  
  
"You mean to tell me that I've traveled for 8 straight hours with unbelievably frustrating people just to get fucked up the ass by you?" His tone of mock disbelief and incredulity made me roll my eyes for the nth time this night.  
  
"Uh....yes?"  
  
I felt his patented smirk spread ceremoniously on the flesh of my shoulder.  
  
"Don't get used to this Mido-kun."  
  
I "hmphed" inaudibly.  
  
"Don't get your hopes up."  
  
The last shreds of my clothing fell to the floor along with his towel in an undignified heap in the middle of the room as we collapsed together in a jumble of flushed skin and muted gasps on the bed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~********~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I found him sitting on the windowsill, hours later, watching the myriad display of fireworks still exploding in the sky. The theatrical colors were reflected wantonly across his face, the scarlet red of one turning his eyes into a mirror of dark violet glass, and the azure blue of another turning them into pools of depthless black the next heartbeat.  
  
He could be a total heart-stopper if he wanted to be.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
A smile played on his lips, but other than that, he didn't move another muscle.  
  
"I told you I was going to watch the fireworks."  
  
And he had, hadn't he? Arranging the blankets so that they hung and covered me comfortably, not understanding why I bothered being modest with a man I just fucked into the mattress. Some sort of code of honor?  
  
Ah, who the hell cares.  
  
I placed myself opposite him, bringing along a pack of cigs I found lying around on the floor. I put it between us, and after a few moments, he takes one out and grabs the lighter I just used.  
  
He took one slow drag and suddenly speaks.  
  
"You've fucked anyone else these past few weeks?"  
  
The question made the smoke he was about to inhale all go down the wrong pipe, made his eyes water and his throat itch irritatingly.  
  
"What the hell...?!? What kind of question is that?!?"  
  
His eyes never left mine for a second, shadowed and covered so I didn't know exactly what he was thinking, but something akin to deadly seriousness and thoughtfulness lurked just under the surface, flickering in and out like a dysfunctional light bulb.  
  
"Just answer the question Mido-kun. Have you slept with anybody this month other than me?"  
  
My head instantly came up with a blank line that seemed to stretch on to infinity.  
  
He seemed to have read my mind because he shook his head and sighed.  
  
"Me neither."  
  
The silence that followed was heavy with unsaid thoughts. It wasn't supposes to have turned out like this. I fuck him, he fucks me, and in the next hour, we'd both be screwing other people. Mere fuck buddies, perfect example of the word.  
  
Were we getting... attached?  
  
The thought sent a chill up and down my spine.  
  
"This doesn't mean anything you know." I said it a little too hastily, the words nearly tripping over themselves. This meant absolutely nothing. So what if I hadn't gotten another girl for the past few weeks? The moment I get back to Shinjuku I can seduce every girl in the damn town. And every damn guy if I too, for good measure.  
  
"Yes. You're right."  
  
And both of us went back to watching the multicolored lights fill the dawn tinged sky, and I found myself what the hell I had gotten myself into.  
  
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This thing just seems getting longer and longer. So what do you think? Did I satisfy all your Akabane x Ban cravings? *cackles* Or did I just ruin the effect of the first two chapters?  
  
REVIEWS!!! Teeheehee.  
  
-fatalis 


	4. vier

I'm back! Hahaha, yes, I've been a lazy piece of shit these last few days. But before I present to you the fourth part of Stillness and Silence, I'd like to say something to the following people.

Thankees to:

ManicReversed : I love you for sticking with this fic and reviewing every chapter. You are one of the people who inspired me the most to continue with this. If it wasn't for you, maybe this thing would never have become what it is right now. Oh, and don't bite me. ;)

Zeto : Because you wanted another update. : DDD

hisachan27 : I converted you too! Write an AkabanexBan? Please? :)

MurakiSlavegirl : You're up there with the most loved people along with Manic. Thanks for telling me that I was rushing the fic a little too much.

Tala1 : Now you, girl, I also love to pieces. I totally agree with you about Ginji. ( I actually laughed when I read your review). I'll be waiting for your fic. Hahahahaha.

RubyMoon17 : Thank you for adding me to your favorite author's list and for reviewing Talk of the Town. I guess my true calling is yaoi fangirl, huh? :)

laguna_moomba : *glomps* Your reviews always manage to lift me up from the stumps that hinder this fic. You make my world... happier. Is that possible when I haven't even met you? Heeeheee.

blackrose : Thanks for telling me that I overwrote the first chapter, and for telling me that I was turning Akabane into a softie. Tell me if he's OOC in this part too, I'd really welcome whatever you have to say.

obssdgb: I live to serve you and to spread the AkabanexBan love. ;D 

And to all the people who reviewed but were not mentioned : I sincerely appreciate all that you have told me about this fic, and that you took the time to read this and comment even though there are a lot of other stories out there that you could have read. Words cannot express how grateful I am to you guys.

And now... to get on with this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~********~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    
    So he dies and I'm the joke
    
    A playdoh mask a million miles to go
    
    A suped up cock tease with a little twist
    
    When sex got ugly I'd insist
    
    Hear you'll empty all I've got
    
    Fucking's over but I can't stop cumming
    
    Still born dead or never born at all

jesus was my girl – david usher

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Part 4 

My head bangs painfully against the wooden wall of the practice room as the steel arm of my opponent slams into me remorselessly, causing a few internal injuries that a weaker person might have died from. It feels like I'm being pummeled with an iron crowbar, and no matter how much I try to break away from his grip, it only seems to worsen the pain I am feeling. 

Mido-kun's been practicing lately.

Ignoring the darkness eating away at the edge of my vision, I bring my hands up to his sides, letting my fingers travel over rigid muscles and the glistening expanse of skin that is his torso, and attack. My knives obey without hesitation, and I fancy that I actually hear the slick, wet sound of his blood dripping over them before he stumbles away, clutching both his injured sides to stop the unexpected bleeding.

But I've been practicing too.

I'm gone the next instant, circling around him so fast that the air seems to rip apart because of my passage. My throat feels like it's half-crushed, covered with a necklace of bruises that aren't going to go away anytime soon, a few of my ribs are broken, and I feel a burning pain in my lungs every time I try to take in air, but I cannot for the life of me make myself panic and stop the exhilaration coursing through my body because of this.

This is what I live for, this exotic dance with death.

His labored breathing resounds through the dojo, echoing the rushed beating of my heart as he stands up and gives chase. His wounds are not shallow, I know that for a fact, but they don't seem to hinder him as he flies across the room towards me, blood spattering in small, graceful arcs along the walls he comes closest to and the floor he doesn't even seem to touch. 

Even when he's making a mess of himself he seems poetic.

I turn slightly to the left as his fist flashes by my side and obliterates the table it unfortunately collides with. He is so close that I feel the heat radiating from him, fiery hot flames licking beneath the surface of such a pale body. Marble like in it's appearance, it gives off the impression of perfect solidity and control, but I know from experience every spot that will make that stone pillar melt like hot butter. All that passion coiled up like a spring waiting to be released, twisted so tautly that it's on the verge of breaking this very second.

I resist the urge to run my hands through his hair and to pull his head back with a snap. What is it that makes me want to fuck you over even though I've had you so many times already? Your cynical beauty is an invitation I can't ignore.

Hurt me to stop me from hurting myself. That's your message isn't it?

"How long can you stay in control of yourself, lover?" I whisper it into his ear, so softly that it barely brushes aside strands of his mahogany hair, but he pauses for a second in mid-turn. He doesn't understand, can't comprehend the total understanding I have of him, but I don't really want him to anyway. It would take the fun out of all this.

Another fist comes tearing through space towards me, traveling straight for my gut, but I anticipate the move and hit it sideways with the palm of my hand. The force throws him off balance, sends him staggering backwards as I take the opportunity to drop down and kick his feet from beneath him.

I am on top of him in a blink of an eye.

"Check. Mate." I say it in a languid drawl, knowing that he's going to be irritated as hell at my apparent cockiness. I half-expect him to try flipping me over, but the eerie shine of my blades along his throat tells him that he can't make a false move without risking being stabbed in the windpipe.

His whole body relaxes, signaling the end of this evening's session and his defeat. It seems he's had enough for the moment.

"Get off of me you asshole, before your pants start sucking out all the blood in my torso." The winded retort escapes his lips a little painfully, and I look down to see that his wounds are indeed bleeding profusely into my black silk pants. I forgot that those were there. I try to get up as carefully as I can, but the dried blood sticks to the abrasions and my own injuries prevent me from being successful in this attempt, thus making him gasp mutedly in agony as I try to move away from him.

I don't apologize as my hand hits one of his cuts.

He insults me for a full 20 seconds before quieting down again, reaching into his pocket for a lighter and cigarette that miraculously didn't get trampled upon during our fight. A spark of orange in the semi-darkness lights his features, illuminating perfect cheekbones and downcast lashes in a split second of astounding clarity.

No wonder so many fall under this man's spell.

"How are you going to explain your condition to Ginji-kun this time?" I ask him after minute of silence. Last time he said it was a bar fight. The time before that an encounter with a neighbor's vicious dog. And the time before that he said it was a close car accident.

I doubt even a person as gullible as Ginji-kun's going to believe another excuse that comes out of his lips.

"I won't have to."

I feel my eyebrows rise in response to his answer.

Oh?

"And why is that, pray tell?"

A cloud of smoke floats unhurriedly from his lips, a perfect circle with a small hole in the center. 

"Because I'm moving to your apartment."

Surprise makes the already raised eyebrow travel even higher up my forehead, but other than that, I don't move another inch.

"Interesting arrangement, Mido-kun."

He nods his head.

"Not only interesting. It's also practical."

Ahhhh. So that's what he's hiding it behind now.

"I don't sleep at my place 5 days a week because I'm always screwing you. The rent is getting higher, and frankly, I don't want to pay that much for a room I'm barely in for more than 30 hours. Your apartment is large enough for both of us, and I know that it's closer to the Honky Tonk than you care to let on. Common sense tells me that the answer to this problem is for me to move in with you."

The smug smile gracing his lips tells me he's damn proud of himself for having have had thought of this solution, but the fleeting, flickering shadows in his eyes that have nothing to do with the night tell me another story that I am more inclined to believe.

He was trying to prove to himself that he has no affection to hide from me.

"This still has nothing to do with affection or love or whatever crap seems to be floating around these days, you know. I just want that to be perfectly clear between you and I." He continues, as if trying to persuade me. I let him, play along with the story he's trying to make himself believe.

But the sarcastic part of me finds it all too amusing

The grin is on my lips before I have the chance to annihilate it. So to cover it up, I lean towards him and grab the cigarette dangling from his mouth, taking in the smoke in one inhalation with my right hand and grabbing his jaw with the left. He doesn't resist as I kiss him with a mouthful of mint flavored toxin, doesn't turn away as I press myself my bare torso against his naked chest. He responds instead by running his tongue along my teeth and pushing it into my mouth, delving like a hungry child presented with candy. Fingers curl around the column of my ill-treated neck, caressing thoughtlessly, making me shiver as the pain of my bruises collides with the pleasure of the kiss.

Sex with Mido-kun definitely comes a close second to killing.

I swallow the moan that escapes from him as I nip at his tongue non too gently.

We break away gasping for air, mint lingering still in my mouth along with his unique flavor of vanilla and fire. I smirk at him from beneath a curtain of hair as the faint stirrings of lust begin forming in his pupils, knowing that it was being mirrored in my own gaze.

"Wanna try that again?"

The End

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FINISHED!!!!! Surprising, no? I left it that way so that I had the choice of continuing it in another arc if I wanted to or leaving it like that, on the brink of this particular stage in the relationship of Ban and Akabane. I also ended this because I wanted to be inspired by other stories created by YOU GUYS! Yeah! I want to try my hand at reviewing fics. So if anybody out there is gonna create an AkabanexBan, count on me reviewing it. 

Oh! REVIEW PLEASE! This is the last chapter and all comments and suggestions are appreciated!


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